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Sri Lanka, located on the eastern top of India, offers its visitor long wonderful sandy beaches, high mountain ranges, and lots of intact nature. This offers of course also an ideal home for exotic animal which you can meet anywhere on Sri Lanka. The diversified topography holds the right thing for everyone. Unforgettable adventures are guaranteed.

Who prefers more a urban trip should definitely visit the big cities. The vivid and even hectic atmosphere is for travellers from the west unusual but will for sure leave a long lasting impression. For those focus on a rather sportive holiday there are great opportunities for snorkelling, swimming, surfing and hiking. The waters around Sri Lanka are known as great diving areas with a colourful underwater world. When it comes to surfing the country is quiet undiscovered yet.

Due to the proximity to the equator Sri Lanka has a tropical climate, which also becomes evident in the high average temperatures of 30-35 degrees. These already high temperatures are perceived even higher due to the high air-humidity of 80-90 %. In the mountains instead at night times temperatures can drop to 10-16 degrees, even some ground frost is possible here. Also in the day these regions are cooler and the climate more comfortable. The hottest months are March and April when the sun stands vertical over Sri Lanka. In the months from May – August is monsoon season which brings especially heavy rain in the in the southwest of the country.

In the north and in the east the highest amount of rain comes down during December and January. The best time to travel in the east and northeast is therefore from March till November, the best time to visit the southwest is during November till March. Another good time for a vacation in Sri Lanka is the time from January till the middle of April as this season is overall low in rain.

The southwest of Sri Lanka is best suited for surfing as the spots are served by the same constant swells that also serve the Indonesian coast. In the 70ties Arugam Bay was one of the most popular spots worldwide. After 1983 the region became more and more unsafe due to civil war and many surfers turned to other destinations. They found them on the southwest coast where numerous reef breaks hit the coast close to Hikkaduwa.

The most famous spot in this region is called “Main reef”. This one is however often crowded and strong dominated by the local crew. On the other spots you will find much less people on the line-ups. Due to the warm water only body shorts or Lycra is necessary also for a longer session. The best surf conditions can be found during the month of May till September on the south east coast. During the rest of the year the swell is rather small.

Best season for beginner: September – May
Best season for advanced surfer: May – September

Crowd factor: Higher on the well known spots

The easiest way to get to Sri Lanka from Europe is by one of the regular flying scheduled flights. From all large European airports operate daily several planes to Colombo “Bandaranayake International“, the only international airport on Sri Lanka. There are however more small airports but these are only part of the domestic air network. The state rail net “Sri Lanka Railways” connects bigger cities in Sri Lanka.

Currently projects are being developed which construct high-speed railways in order to foster the national transport system and to strengthen the economy. The state run and well working bus system “Sri Lanka Transport” is responsible for the easy use of the bus network. It is also possible and cheap to move by taxi.